Ekona Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Just a quick question as this is driving me absolutely nuts now... Is there any special trick to getting a laser alignment done on the Zed AND keeping the steering wheel so that straight ahead really is straight ahead? When I had my new tyres put on a couple of weeks ago I had a full alignment done then, however they'd left it so that the steering wheel was ever so slightly on the wonk to the left. I decided I couldn't live with this so took it elsewhere to get it done again, and after THREE attempts the wheel was still on the p*ss (to the right this time)! As I understand it (and I'm happy to be proved wrong here), the way to do it would be to put the steering wheel in the dead-ahead/12 o'clock position, lock the wheels in place and then adjust whatever needs to be adjusted underneath to get the alignment correct. Bearing in mine that mine's an 06 so has the speed-sensitive steering, would there be any reason that doing a simple alignment should be such an issue? Is there a special knack to it on the Zed? What the hell are these places missing? For the record the first place was my local Just Tyres who I've used before and always found them to be decent blokes, and the second place was Quik-Fit as I was getting a bit desperate and I'm too far to reasonably travel to ESR and back in a day. I really can't understand why they can't make the steering wheel point straight ahead when I'm driving in a straight line, after all it was fine when I got it from Nissan... Any help/pointers I can give them would be gratefully received: Got the car booked in at Demon Tweeks on Friday lunchtime so I'm hoping for third time (well, place) lucky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 No help on the aligment, but you could check the steering wheel is on straight? Its on a splined boss, so you could whip it off and try moving it around a notch? Its quite easy to do if you have a set of torx tools and socket set? You do need to remove the airbag so remember to unplug the battery and leave it a few mins before taking off the airbag or the CEL/airbag light will come on. Might be worth a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 I did try that, but one of the stupid security bolts decided to round itself off, so I now need to get a stud extractor on it That's not something I'm going to try before the weekend mind, as I'm on track on Saturday and it'd be a really bad time to break something this close! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigphil Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I did try that, but one of the stupid security bolts decided to round itself off, so I now need to get a stud extractor on it That's not something I'm going to try before the weekend mind, as I'm on track on Saturday and it'd be a really bad time to break something this close! This needs to be checked properly by someone who knows what they are doing. As you have said the steering wheel should be in the dead ahead postition before making the adjustments and should remain there, once the adjustments are made then the sterring position should be rechecked. What you have now could mean the geometry is out of kilter and could reult in the car pulling to one side in an emergency brake situation. Don't reposition the steering wheel get the geometry checked correctly. TDI in Thurrock have the ideal equipment to do this as it should be. They are in the traders section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Sorry to sound a bit dense here, but what do you mean when you say geometry? Will a full alignment not sort it? Should I be going somewhere a bit more specialist to get that done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigphil Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Sorry to sound a bit dense here, but what do you mean when you say geometry? Will a full alignment not sort it? Should I be going somewhere a bit more specialist to get that done? allignments checks are only as good as the individual using the equipment. Suspension is made up of a series of located components at various angles which require setting at various degrees in relation to castor, toe, camber etc. As I said TDI (Torque Developments International) have the knowledge to do this right, money well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Whoops, missed that first time, sorry Thanks for your help Phil, I'll have to pay them a visit after the weekend. Just a bit annoyed that everything was fine with the car before I decided to do the sensible thing and get the alignment checked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcash5 Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I had this problem, quick trip to HiQ for all wheels balanced, alignment and camber and it felt like a different car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 Just to finish this, my booking with Demon Tweeks was a great success as they sorted everything out both front and back for the bargain price of £85. The car handled beautifully at Anglesey on Saturday and I'd have no hesitation in going there again or recommending them to others. Just a shame I had to learn the hard way, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Just to finish this, my booking with Demon Tweeks was a great success as they sorted everything out both front and back for the bargain price of £85. The car handled beautifully at Anglesey on Saturday and I'd have no hesitation in going there again or recommending them to others. Just a shame I had to learn the hard way, really. Funny you should say that because I had the opposite experience. DT buggered mine up and I've never got round to having it sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWZ Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 ^^ Second Digsy, DT buggered mine up as well and the wheel was out, went elsewhere to get it fixed. Takes the pis when they charge £50 for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Ming Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 A simple check first. Tyre pressures and wear. My steering used to do exactly this but new front tyres and EQUAL pressure cured it!! Just a thought! Ming the helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adncd Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 from what i have experienced and seen on this forum, the steering wheel alignment is common problem. Min was initial fine, then when i knocked the tracking out, the place putting it back could not get it right, i paid for a cheap alignment which worked a treat but as it needed castor and camber doing had to pay for an expensive geometry at a good garage and they fixed the castor/camber and the checked the wheel alignment but have managed to through the steering wheel out of straight. I have got used to it as it is not out by much, but i would not start removing the steering wheel no matter how bad it got - its not the steering wheel that has moved to make it not straight, it is something underneath the car that needs fixing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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